Sometime in 2014, the U.S. Navy has plans to install the LaWS (Navy Laser Weapon System) on combat ships. The laser is capable of obliterating small boats and drones, firing warning shots, and blinding spy cameras destroying their sensors. Though LaWS hits its targets at the speed of light, the laser will not be as useful for faster moving targets such as incoming missiles and jet fighters, .

The LaWS prototype reportedly cost $32 million to build, but the Navy claims the weapon is cost-effective because each shot of directed energy costs less than $1, compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars it costs to fire a missile.

Lasers have the potential to revolutionize the economics and technology of warfare.
No longer science-fiction, the era of laser weapons is here.